By Katherine Kemp
When I applied to Princeton in Latin America, I fully expected to be sent off to a remote community somewhere in Latin America. I was already preparing for exciting new foods, the embarrassing moments that naturally result from being a foreigner in a new culture, and most importantly, learning about international development at the local level.
We are thrilled to share with the PiLA Family that all our new PiLA Fellows have started their placements!
It’s been a whirlwind year for PiLA and for our valued partner organizations, but also for our program finalists for the 2020-21 fellowship year.
By Emily Nagler
Although I'm less than halfway through my PiLA fellowship -- five months and one day to be exact -- I feel like I've become a member of both the community of Patzún, Guatemala and my host organization, the Women's Justice Initiative (WJI). To my surprise, it took only a few weeks for me to feel welcomed and settled as a member of the team, despite all the barriers I had created in my mind.
The PiLA Team is happy to report that all of our 2019-2020 PiLA Fellows have started their fellowship adventures!
When I received news a year and a half ago that I had been accepted as the PiLA fellow at the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, I felt a massive rush of conflicting emotions. I was ecstatic about the new opportunity, hopeful that I would learn and grow, but at the same time very scared to be doing this alone, as the only Princeton fellow in San José, Costa Rica.
During my time at Hospitalito Atitlán, I was surprised to find myself taking on the role of staff psychologist. While I was not specifically hired for this role, it was a natural fit based on my academic background and interests, as well as the great need for mental health services in this region. The community endured a civil war for 36 years, during which thousands of people were tortured and killed. In 2005, a mudslide caused by Hurricane Stan killed approximately 250 people and left more than 5,000 homeless.
I realized I was in love with the Dominican Republic while I was waiting on the side of a street making googly eyes at a baby and the parents, amused and unafraid, offered me the child to hold and a chair to sit on. The love took a while to hit. From the start, living in the DR and working at the education and community development organization The DREAM Project inspired and pushed me.
I always struggle trying to describe my work to my family and friends. While my official title is “Leadership Director,” and while my contract dictates that my primary responsibility is directing our Voices of Youth, our youth leadership program, that is far from what I do.
According to legend, the Aztecs determined where to permanently settle based on a sign from the gods: an eagle, eating a snake, perched on a cactus. As they navigated the land that is today Mexico City, the eagle, eating a snake, on a cactus, sat on a tiny island surrounded by a massive lake. Recognizing the sign from the gods, the Aztecs expanded the island to make it habitable, filling the water with soil and sand.
When we applied to Princeton in Latin America, we envisioned ourselves in remote pueblos (towns), learning from la comunidad (community), and giving back to a region we deeply love and feel connected to in profound ways. To our surprise, we chose placements far closer to the U.S capital than we imagined, and we are actively supporting Latin America from the Worldwide Office of The Nature Conservancy (TNC).
Whatever language we use to describe them, relationships are central to a sense of community and personal well-being. Reflecting on our first months at Pueblo a Pueblo, we find that friendships and partnerships are also important to our work here in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala.
Having wrapped up my first month at Adisa, I am inclined to reflect more carefully on my experience to date. While in many ways I still feel like I’m adjusting and figuring things out, I’m also surprised by how much I’ve already learned. I might still not know how to navigate all the callejones of Santiago without getting lost but I do know where to buy my avocados, how to introduce myself in Tz’utujil, and how to give a fairly informative tour of Adisa.